After playing steel Eagle again I remembered why I deleted it, the game is pretty impressive in all areas but sound, I immediately become annoyed everytime I play it that there is no sound effects, it wouldn't have been that hard to add something, it needn't have been amazing, any sound fx would've been better than nothing. The game runs very fast, so there is no way they couldn't add anything for technical reasons, and if sound had made the game slow down a little bit it would've been an improvement to the gameplay anyway.
everytime I play the game I just think what a wasted opportunity it was :(
After playing Steel Eagle again I remembered why I deleted it, the game is pretty impressive in all areas but sound, I immediately become annoyed everytime I play it that there is no sound effects, it wouldn't have been that hard to add something, it needn't have been amazing, any sound fx would've been better than nothing.
I have never played the game, but when watching the RZX I do hear some sounds from bullets fired and enemies hitted??
Do you really mean that there is no sound at all? The RZX file is made from a 128k, perhaps the sound is only available in 128k versions? It did have some quite good intro music as well.
Do you really mean that there is no sound at all? The RZX file is made from a 128k, perhaps the sound is only available in 128k versions? It did have some quite good intro music as well.
there is 128 menu music, but complete silence during gameplay, though maybe i'm doing something wrong
the tap file has sound effects!!!! this game is now one of the best speccy shooters ever :smile:
EDIT: Hmmm, in fact it seems as though there is no problem with the tzx either, the problem was located at my DS emulator, which must have been the only thing I had played it on thus far
I can now see the invisible bullet syndrome Lockett was mentioning earlier, seems that this is actually an emulation problem as well, this time caused by spin. So I have the choice of playing it perfectly on my DS without in game sound, or playing it with sound and having the bullets appearing and dissapearing, looks lke I'm back to no sound for the time being :-)
the tap file has sound effects!!!! this game is now one of the best speccy shooters ever :smile:
EDIT: Hmmm, in fact it seems as though there is no problem with the tzx either, the problem was located at my DS emulator, which must have been the only thing I had played it on thus far
Thankyou !!!!!!!!!!!
Never played Steel Eagle before ! Think its great ! Great Speccy R-Type type game. The sound effects worked fine for me in Spectaculator. Love this game ! Very good ! Cant believe i ever missed it ! Cheers lads
I've got to say that I'm rather disappointed that there are so much inferior clones in that list, given that you ruled out all conversions and assorted sub genres along the way. You've excluded some great games seemingly just to make room for a load of crud.
Out of those, I'd only consider Light Force and Zynaps as particularly innovative at the time of release. Bedlam, Xecutor and F.I.R.E. are perhaps overlooked, although not particularly original. The rest I wouldn't bother with at all.
My sentiments exactly. A lot of the arcade conversions are really very good, but that wasn't what I was looking for. I don't consider R-Type to be a Spectrum game because it's an arcade game. I don't consider Operation Wolf to be a C64 game because it's an arcade game as well. Similarly, by no means is Starquake an Atari game.
jesus 666 asked me what my favorite Spectrum shoot-em-ups were based on my criteria. I like all of the games that I mentioned, but only a few really stand out.
(I'm surprised that you didn't mention Canyon Fighter and Moon Strike, though)
I can now see the invisible bullet syndrome Lockett was mentioning earlier, seems that this is actually an emulation problem as well, this time caused by spin. So I have the choice of playing it perfectly on my DS without in game sound, or playing it with sound and having the bullets appearing and dissapearing, looks lke I'm back to no sound for the time being :-)
I just played it in RealSpectrum and it works perfectly.
I haven't gone back through this thread but remembered
Galactic Gunners
and
Orion (the Czech one)
both of which as original if derrivative sidescrollers. Galactic Gunners is a very good one but with dreaful end of level guardians
Orion is as good looking as R Type but far too short to keep your attention for long.
Orion (the Czech one)
both of which as original if derrivative sidescrollers. Galactic Gunners is a very good one but with dreaful end of level guardians
Orion is as good looking as R Type but far too short to keep your attention for long.
Good shout, never tried Orion before. Was quite good once i finally defined my keys properly !
GALACTIC GUNNERS, R-TYPE, U.N.SQUADRON, ZYNAPS, SWIV, SIDEWIZE, SILKWORM, CHRONOS, BATTLE COMMAND, FLYING SHARK, MAIN BLOW, SLAP FIGHT, LIGHT FORCE, XEVIOUS, DRAGON SPIRIT and more other games exist too in version for Kempston mouse. You can test this games in emulator. Mouse control in ZX games is excellent. http://velesoft.speccy.cz/kmsoft.htm
GALACTIC GUNNERS, [strike]R-TYPE[/strike], [strike]U.N.SQUADRON[/strike], ZYNAPS, SWIV, SIDEWIZE, [strike]SILKWORM[/strike], CHRONOS, [strike]BATTLE COMMAND[/strike], [strike]FLYING SHARK[/strike], MAIN BLOW, [strike]SLAP FIGHT[/strike], LIGHT FORCE, [strike]XEVIOUS[/strike], [strike]DRAGON SPIRIT[/strike] and more other games exist too in version for Kempston mouse. You can test this games in emulator. Mouse control in ZX games is excellent. http://velesoft.speccy.cz/kmsoft.htm
WOS, GB64, and KLOV. I'm not too sure about Bedlam being a Spectrum original, but I can't find any evidence to the contrary.
Well, i'm almost positive that Hades Nebula was developed on the C64 first (certainly everything i've read points to it being an original title) and i'd call at least Sabotage, Steel Eagle and Bedlam a grey area too.
Looking at the post above mine, weren't the 8-bit versions of SWIV based on the 16-bit ones?
tHmmm, in fact it seems as though there is no problem with the tzx either, the problem was located at my DS emulator, which must have been the only thing I had played it on thus far
Hmm, interesting. I'll have a look at that. It's highest time to get the rock rolling again anyway...
Hmm, interesting. I'll have a look at that. It's highest time to get the rock rolling again anyway...
Patrik
you're the guy that made it? your emulator rules, it's pretty much perfect, other than the steel eagle problem the only thing i've noticd is that certain sounds on games don't come out quite right and make a tinny kind of tone instead, Xecutor, Cybernoid and Marauder are examples I can think of off the top of my head, other than that though the emulator is literally perfect
That doesn't mean that the 16-bit versions weren't developed earlier and held back so that all versions could be released simultaneously rather than having two advertising campaigns.
Reading the text, it's very obviously not talking about the 8-bit versions (disk operations during play) so despite the boxout it looks as though the mag only had the 16-bit versions to examine for the preview, again implying that they were ready first. One format has to be the lead for the others, my money would be on the Amiga for this one.
I don't know about Sabotage, but the other two are definitely Spectrum originals.
Steel Eagle i'd have said the C64 was the original on the grounds that it has a copyright notice that names the developer (on the status bar) and usually that would imply that it was written independently and submitted rather than tendered out for conversion, what source are you using to make a definitive statement?
Bedlam i've not seen anything conclusive either way yet; being targeted for 128K machines or taking a year to code aren't definitive proof either way, in fact they could both be taken to mean that it was a conversion and a difficult one just as easily.
other than the steel eagle problem the only thing i've noticd is that certain sounds on games don't come out quite right and make a tinny kind of tone instead, Xecutor, Cybernoid and Marauder are examples I can think of off the top of my head
There are several issues with the sound, as I have mentioned elsewhere before, related to the volume tables used and possible clamping by the final mixer. However, when I have went through the hundreds of games over the past few months, I have noticed there is something else wrong, likely related to the AY emulation itself. It's that tinny sound, Marauder and Terramex are nice examples, but it's most apparent in Chase H.Q. 2. The Steel Eagle might suffer from the same bug - by the sound of the shot effects, it seems like the standard envelopes are being used, so it looks I might have done something wrong in that department.
On topic, anyone fancy of Hypsys 1/2 or Silent Shadow?
Steel Eagle i'd have said the C64 was the original on the grounds that it has a copyright notice that names the developer (on the status bar) and usually that would imply that it was written independently and submitted rather than tendered out for conversion, what source are you using to make a definitive statement?.
I think thats quite likely, the Spectrum version looks like they've had more time to iron out all the bugs, either way, a case could be made for them being different games with the same name, seeing as the level designs are different as well as some of the power-up features
At that point, the odds of an 8-bit version being the lead or developed independently of the 16-bit incarnation are pretty low.
SilkWorm was one of the highest selling Spectrum and C64 games ever, and also one of the most critically acclaimed, I'm sure this fact would have made the 8-bit version of SWIV a high priority. Anyway if they were all being developed simultaneously then none of them count as ports, originally someone probably would've brainstormed and drawn up designs on paper which would then have been what each of the programmers had followed when making their versions, stepping in to check on each others progress as time went on, I think you want SWIV to have been an Amiga original because you have a particular affinity for that version.
I doubt that was the case on the Spectrum as it barely tickled the Top 10 charts published in YS: Sep'89 #10, Oct'89 #3, Nov'89 #7.
Its ratings were nothing special, neither: YS 90%, Crash 73%, SU 86%.
Hmm maybe I'm thinking more of the C64 version, I remember that got into loads of greatest C64 games ever made lists in the magazines, 90% is still areally good rating for a shooter though (especially seeing as half the best Spectrum shooters got ratings of around 70% in the magazines of the time, the reasons being as intelligent as "it's another shooter, we have too many shoot-em-ups already" written over and over for every shooter review)
Comments
Aye - and so few of them had them.
everytime I play the game I just think what a wasted opportunity it was :(
I have never played the game, but when watching the RZX I do hear some sounds from bullets fired and enemies hitted??
http://www.rzxarchive.co.uk/s/steeleagle.rzx
Do you really mean that there is no sound at all? The RZX file is made from a 128k, perhaps the sound is only available in 128k versions? It did have some quite good intro music as well.
there is 128 menu music, but complete silence during gameplay, though maybe i'm doing something wrong
EDIT: Hmmm, in fact it seems as though there is no problem with the tzx either, the problem was located at my DS emulator, which must have been the only thing I had played it on thus far
Thankyou !!!!!!!!!!!
Never played Steel Eagle before ! Think its great ! Great Speccy R-Type type game. The sound effects worked fine for me in Spectaculator. Love this game ! Very good ! Cant believe i ever missed it ! Cheers lads
How are you checking that some of these aren't conversions...?
My sentiments exactly. A lot of the arcade conversions are really very good, but that wasn't what I was looking for. I don't consider R-Type to be a Spectrum game because it's an arcade game. I don't consider Operation Wolf to be a C64 game because it's an arcade game as well. Similarly, by no means is Starquake an Atari game.
jesus 666 asked me what my favorite Spectrum shoot-em-ups were based on my criteria. I like all of the games that I mentioned, but only a few really stand out.
(I'm surprised that you didn't mention Canyon Fighter and Moon Strike, though)
I just played it in RealSpectrum and it works perfectly.
WOS, GB64, and KLOV. I'm not too sure about Bedlam being a Spectrum original, but I can't find any evidence to the contrary.
I was under the impression it was targetted specifically at 128k Speccys.
Well, there you go.
The SU Bedlam review mentions that it was over a year in the making, which is circumstantial evidence that this wasn't a port.
Galactic Gunners
and
Orion (the Czech one)
both of which as original if derrivative sidescrollers. Galactic Gunners is a very good one but with dreaful end of level guardians
Orion is as good looking as R Type but far too short to keep your attention for long.
Good shout, never tried Orion before. Was quite good once i finally defined my keys properly !
http://velesoft.speccy.cz/kmsoft.htm
VELESOFT
There we go...
Well, i'm almost positive that Hades Nebula was developed on the C64 first (certainly everything i've read points to it being an original title) and i'd call at least Sabotage, Steel Eagle and Bedlam a grey area too.
Looking at the post above mine, weren't the 8-bit versions of SWIV based on the 16-bit ones?
and seeing as people keep bringing this up http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/jesusarnold/swivrelease.jpg
Hmm, interesting. I'll have a look at that. It's highest time to get the rock rolling again anyway...
Patrik
you're the guy that made it? your emulator rules, it's pretty much perfect, other than the steel eagle problem the only thing i've noticd is that certain sounds on games don't come out quite right and make a tinny kind of tone instead, Xecutor, Cybernoid and Marauder are examples I can think of off the top of my head, other than that though the emulator is literally perfect
No it isn't :p
That doesn't mean that the 16-bit versions weren't developed earlier and held back so that all versions could be released simultaneously rather than having two advertising campaigns.
Reading the text, it's very obviously not talking about the 8-bit versions (disk operations during play) so despite the boxout it looks as though the mag only had the 16-bit versions to examine for the preview, again implying that they were ready first. One format has to be the lead for the others, my money would be on the Amiga for this one.
OK, I'll take your word for that.
I don't know about Sabotage, but the other two are definitely Spectrum originals.
Maybe, but there's also the chance that they were developed independently.
Steel Eagle i'd have said the C64 was the original on the grounds that it has a copyright notice that names the developer (on the status bar) and usually that would imply that it was written independently and submitted rather than tendered out for conversion, what source are you using to make a definitive statement?
Bedlam i've not seen anything conclusive either way yet; being targeted for 128K machines or taking a year to code aren't definitive proof either way, in fact they could both be taken to mean that it was a conversion and a difficult one just as easily.
At that point, the odds of an 8-bit version being the lead or developed independently of the 16-bit incarnation are pretty low.
There are several issues with the sound, as I have mentioned elsewhere before, related to the volume tables used and possible clamping by the final mixer. However, when I have went through the hundreds of games over the past few months, I have noticed there is something else wrong, likely related to the AY emulation itself. It's that tinny sound, Marauder and Terramex are nice examples, but it's most apparent in Chase H.Q. 2. The Steel Eagle might suffer from the same bug - by the sound of the shot effects, it seems like the standard envelopes are being used, so it looks I might have done something wrong in that department.
On topic, anyone fancy of Hypsys 1/2 or Silent Shadow?
I think thats quite likely, the Spectrum version looks like they've had more time to iron out all the bugs, either way, a case could be made for them being different games with the same name, seeing as the level designs are different as well as some of the power-up features
SilkWorm was one of the highest selling Spectrum and C64 games ever, and also one of the most critically acclaimed, I'm sure this fact would have made the 8-bit version of SWIV a high priority. Anyway if they were all being developed simultaneously then none of them count as ports, originally someone probably would've brainstormed and drawn up designs on paper which would then have been what each of the programmers had followed when making their versions, stepping in to check on each others progress as time went on, I think you want SWIV to have been an Amiga original because you have a particular affinity for that version.
I doubt that was the case on the Spectrum as it barely tickled the Top 10 charts published in YS: Sep'89 #10, Oct'89 #3, Nov'89 #7.
Its ratings were nothing special, neither: YS 90%, Crash 73%, SU 86%.
Nothing special? 90% is pretty special!!
Hmm maybe I'm thinking more of the C64 version, I remember that got into loads of greatest C64 games ever made lists in the magazines, 90% is still areally good rating for a shooter though (especially seeing as half the best Spectrum shooters got ratings of around 70% in the magazines of the time, the reasons being as intelligent as "it's another shooter, we have too many shoot-em-ups already" written over and over for every shooter review)